KAOS: The Swimmer

Film

Skool

Director Adam Kalderon dives into the pervasive homophobia in elite sports, with his poignant coming of age tale, The Swimmer.

Erez (Omer Perelman Striks) finds himself under pressure from all sides: parental expectation, competition from his peers, bigoted Russian trainer Dima (Igal Reznik) - and his feelings for teammate Nevo (Asaf Jonas).

Athletic male bodies in tiny speedos glisten under the hot Israeli son, as the pressure on Erez builds. Perelman Striks gives an intense, and occasionally unhinged, performance as a young sportsman coming to terms with his sexuality. Everything culminates with a surreal musical number that put me in mind of Tsai Ming-Liang's The Wayward Cloud.

The Swimmer hasn't been without controversy, with the Melbourne Queer Film Festival accused of pinkwashing ("a term used to describe the action of using LGBTIAQ+ issues in positive ways in order to distract attention from negative actions by an organization, country, or government") and subject to boycotts. KAOS

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